That Special Something
by TokehGecko
Summary: Curses tend to make people happy at times. This one brings five people together. And Naruto is stuck in the middle. With Konoha as the playground, things will become interesting. A 'SakuNaru on the side' fic.


Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Honestly, an author is forced to put something down here whenever he/she creates an Author's Note. But then, it seems quite… appropriate to put one down. For now, though, I don't have anything to say/write down here.

--

"Oy…"

"…" A turn of one head. "Shikamaru! What are you doing here?! I've never seen you coming to my place!"

"Ah, that's because this place reeks. Obviously, someone like me wouldn't prefer visiting you when you're home. Then again, a person like me wouldn't prefer to visit you at all."

"… I hate you too, lazy sob."

"I came to collect you." He got down to business. "I need your nose. Hokage-sama gave me permission, so as of now, I'm paying you for an A-rank mission."  
 

"Y-you're my client?"

Shikamaru nodded. "You're the best tracker in the world, Kiba. I've lost something important, something that I can't afford to lose. So, you and I, we'll retrieve it."

Kiba could do nothing but look overly dumbfounded. "You're serious?"

"You think I'm kidding? You think I would do so with all these smelly dogs around me?" This got him a bark or twenty from all the dogs around Kiba, excluding Akamaru. "I'm not. We're leaving now."

Kiba grinned. "Fine. Let's go, Akamaru!"

--

**That Special Something**

--

He hopped from pavement to roof to tree and back again, on his way back home. "This month's pay will be awesome!" He chuckled to himself. "Three S-Ranked Missions, twelve A-Ranked and two lousy B-Ranked ones." He said as he held up all of his fingers while counting. "That should give me some space to buy something out of the ordinary."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Neji and Ten-Ten in regular clothes, heading for breakfast. 'Heh, those two are looking like quite the married couple!' He grinned.

Neji sighed and Ten-ten looked a bit surprised as Naruto landed in front of them. "Naruto." Neji greeted, sending him a bored and agitated expression, while Ten-Ten smiled with her eyes closed, bowing once to greet the blonde Jounin. "It's been a while."

"Teeheehee… Good morning! You two heading for breakfast, eh?"

Neji almost yawned, even though he really didn't have to at all. "Obviously."

"Well, it just so happens to be that I was ordered to leave you a message." Neji waited patiently as Naruto was looking at him, but glared as soon as the blonde snapped his entire attention to Ten-Ten. "Your subordinates have been spotted training outside of the Fire Country. Care to explain?" He faked to be strict.

Neji growled and Ten-Ten smiled sheepishly. "Ah, I've ordered them to train in an environment truly unknown to them." She then pouted. "I never expected them to do that without me, though. How often?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Tsunade told me to tell you to keep them on a leash. It's dangerous for Genin to be out there without any protection, after all."

Ten-Ten nodded. "Of course. Where are they now?"

Naruto smiled a wide one and scratched the back of his head. "Well, actually… I made a Shadow Clone and made it look like you. Ad then… well, I don't know. I just let my Clone decide for himself. He's not dead yet, so he must still be having fun…" Naruto chuckled, oblivious to the glares of both Neji and Ten-Ten. "Well, gotta go!" With that, he popped away, telling the other two Jounin this was a Kage Bunshin as well.

"NA-RU-TO!!"

Ten-Ten yelled. Neji yelled.

--

"Ah, you're in Konoha. I didn't expect to see you today."

Sasuke ignored Sai as he stood in front of the doors that would lead him to the Hokage's Office. "Is she in?"

"Actually, she is not. She seems to be paying her respects to the deceased at the moment." Sai cocked his head to the side and smiled at Sasuke. "You finished?"

Sasuke sighed. "None of your business, ink-stain."

Sai ignored the insult. "You were assigned an… A-Ranked Mission? Judging on your behaviour, you failed… perhaps horribly, even. Do you want to share some… unpleasant experiences, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke growled inwardly and kicked down the sudden urge to embrace Sai with a Fire Dragon... or seven. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I finished an S-Ranked Mission, easily." Sai… quipped? "Although it seems perhaps it should have been a considerably lower Ranked Mission. Perhaps as low as an A-Ranked one?" He wondered out loud as he scratched his right ear, infuriating Sasuke a little bit further.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes and walked past the painter. "Whatever, stain."

"Ah, yes, Sasuke-san." Sai continued his drawing in one of his sketchbooks.

--

The sound of a door opening came to her ears.

"Good day!!" She yelled politely as she ran from watering some flowers to the counter in a split second. "N-Naruto?"

Naruto laughed shortly, but genuinely. "Good morning, Ino-chan!"

"Long time, no see." Ino allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she studied Naruto before her. "Came to buy some flowers for a girl, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, though, turned away from her as a bit of sadness passes through his gaze. "Heh… Actually, I came to buy some flowers to pay my respects to some of my precious, but lost friends." He turned back to see Ino smile apologetically. "So, have anything in mind, Ino-chan?"

"… Of course, Naruto." Ino responded lightly as she turned to a few light yellow and light red flowers to her left. Naruto paid her more than double and winked at her, before he left the shop, yelling a sign of gratitude.

Ino grinned and shook her head as she watched the glass door slowly close again, still seeing the fingerprints of Naruto on the handle. 'Hinata is right. He looks cute in a Jounin Uniform…' She then frowned. "Wait, didn't she say, he looks cuter? As in, he already looked cute before?" She wondered out loud.

--

"Hokage-sama."

"… I'm sorry… Jiraiya-sama." Tsunade bowed to the grave before her. "I'm sorry I never gave you the respect you deserve…. You truly were a great man."

Tsunade released one big sigh and turned to Sakura. "Ah, looks like he's coming this way today, after all."

Sakura looked a bit puzzled, until another person appeared behind Tsunade, but in front of Jiraiya's grave. 'Naruto?'

"Good morning, Tsunade, Sakura-chan." Naruto greeted as he looked at the grave. "Good morning… Ero-Sennin."

A moment of silence washed over them as Naruto simply stared at the gaze with a sad smile on his face. Sakura watched how the blonde Jounin put down a bundle of flowers and bowed once, before turning to herself and Tsunade. "I'll be…" He cut himself off, smiled and bowed to them, before turning away, heading towards another grave…

"Tsunade-shishou… You didn't tell me he was back in Konoha? I haven't seen him in…"

"A long time." Tsunade finished. "He has been befriending Grass in the last few months and has actually dragged a subordinate with him."

"Again? This is the… fourth already?" Sakura wondered. "How does he do it?"

"Well, you should know. You've been his teammate for quite some time, after all." Tsunade smiled. "Sasuke is supposed to be returning from a mission today as well."

--

"State your purpose." He coldly commanded as he was itching to use his sword to decapitate this unknown character.

"A-ah! Wait! I'm no enemy to you, Konoha Shinobi!" The Grass Shinobi bowed before the Konoha-nin. "My name's Ikitaisen Noraide! I am here under orders from a Konoha Shinobi like yourself!" He desperately explained.

"Hn. Who do you think you're fooling? I am an Uchiha, I have memorized every Shinobi in Konoha, so I know for a fact your hitai-ate is genuine and truly from Grass. And there's no possibility a Grass Shinobi would be working for someone from Konoha like this. You're speaking nonsense, and I will neutralize you."

"Ah, Sasuke-san."

"Get lost, ink-stain. I'm busy." Sasuke responded to Sai, who had appeared behind him. The Grass Shinobi shot Sai a hopeful gaze that screamed 'HELP!'

"He's of Uzumaki's squad, though. If you hurt him, you'll have Naruto to deal with as well." Sai pointed out as he waved at the Grass-nin once. "Isn't that right?"

Noraide nodded his head rapidly. "Yes! Yes! Uzumaki Naruto is my Captain!"

Sasuke sighed and groaned at the same time. "This is nonsense. That idiot just brings back foreign Shinobis here from everywhere and makes him his subordinates. It's just useless." He said as he was no longer touching his Kusanagi no Tsurugi. "Fine, but I'm watching you, Ikitaisen." He let out, his Sharingan slowly fading away.

The green-haired, light-green wearing Grass Shinobi bowed. "Yes, Uchiha-san!" Sasuke left using Shunshin and Noraide looked at Sai. "Thank you, …?"

"Sai. You are Ikitaisen Noraide?" Sai asked as he stepped forward a bit. "Why are you here, alone? Shouldn't you be with Naruto? Or at least reporting to Hokage-sama?"

Ikitaisen nervously scratched the back of his head, which made Sai think of him as a somewhat younger Naruto, only this one with green hair. "I uhh… Uzumaki-taichou told me to report to Hokage-sama, as you said, but… Well, I was on my way, when the other guy interrupted me and-"

Sai nodded his head and held up his hand, shutting Noraide up. "I understand. Sasuke-san can be quite vexing, at times."

"So… I'll be on my way, then."

--

"You've gotta be kidding…."

"I'm not. So let's get going." He said as he observed his surroundings. "I don't have all day and neither do you. Hokage-sama told me we have to be back before night hits, because you have a three-day Mission, starting tonight."

Kiba groaned. "Man, I hate missions that start in the night…"

Shikamaru grinned. "We have six hours to locate it. Better get a move on, Kiba."

Kiba shrugged. "Tcheh, give me some credit, already. This is just too easy…"

--

"Hold up." Came a calm voice that held much authorization. "Greet them." He said with a grin behind his mask.

Three Genin looked to their left to see the Hokage and Sakura walking. "Hokage-sama, Sakura-sama!"

Tsunade allowed herself to look in the direction where the voices came from. "Ah, the Aburame and Inuzuka twins?"

Sakura smiled at their Jounin Instructor as she and her mentor slowly made their way over to them. "So, you three finished your mission?"

"If it is considered to be a mission." The young Aburame replied.

"Heck, he's right!" One of the two Inuzuka next to the bug user yelled. "This is our tenth D-Ranked Mission already! "

"So, Kakashi-sensei, how are they?" Sakura asked as she stood next to her taller ex-teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei? You've taught her as well, sensei?" Said the other of the Inuzuka twins, this one male. "Wow, you never told us you were the teacher of the legendary Haruno Sakura-sama!"

--

"Good afternoon, Uzumaki-taichou!" Greeted him as he had jumped from outside through his window and landed in his apartment.

Naruto threw two scrolls down on the ground and sat down between them. The other three followed.

"We won't be having another mission anytime soon, because… Hokage-sama thought we could use some time off." The blonde sighed as he stared at his subordinates. "Hey, where's Ikitaisen?"

"Looks like he's still busy with the Hokage." One of them guessed.

Naruto shook his head. "Can't be, I just met with Tsunade. He probably just got lost or something." He scratched the back of his head. "Ikitaisen can take care of himself, anyway." 

"So, how long will we have to do without missions?"

Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry, Konoha's not a bad place to be." Then he added a bit bitterly. 'As long as you're not a Jinchuuriki.' He watched as his three subordinates fidgeted, thinking about what to do now that they were off duty.

Their names were Risa Natsuki, Sayara Mudaka and Keidarou Dairokku.

Risa had dark red hair, tied up in a short ponytail just reaching below her shoulders, but her bangs were pretty much covering her eyes. She is originally from Stone, but their Kage had allowed her to travel with Naruto.

Sayara had light blue, close to grey hair, bangs also covering her eyes and she wore it loose, also just below her shoulders. She came from Sand, but Gaara allowed her to travel with Naruto.

Keidarou came from the Mist. He had black hair, tied in a ponytail. Keidarou was actually a 'traveller' Naruto came across on one of his missions. "So, can't we do some mission inside this Village or something? Flush out a spy or two?" Keidarou asked. "I'm dying for some action."

"It can't be helped, we'll just have to take it easy for a while." Naruto replied. "You three do whatever you like. But I never said you have to keep your eyes closed when you walk through this village." Naruto shook his head at the sudden sunshine in their eyes. "Be careful, though. ANBU is everywhere…"

"Don't worry, taichou!" Risa chuckled as she put her hand on his shoulder a bit hard. "We'll get ourselves out of any tight spot, remember?" Naruto shuddered as Sayara slapped his other shoulder.

"But then again, we might need to signal, ey?" Sayara grinned.

Keidarou snorted. "So, your old teammates are in this village, right? …Are they as strong as you are? Their names are as famous as yours, right? Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. I wonder how they'll fare against me."

Naruto shook his head. "They'll knock you senseless in a second, and you'd be wondering when and if it had happened at all."

Keidarou snorted again. "Is that so? Well… that should be about accurate, IF they truly are legendary Shinobi, such as yourself…"

--

She was closing the shop when she heard the knock at the door. "Almost done, be right there!!" She yelled as she checked if she had closed and shut down everything for the third time. One can never be too sure when leaving your own shop.

She opened the door and stepped outside, locking it immediately. "So, Sakura? Guess who's back in Konoha?"

Sakura blinked. "Sasuke-kun? Naruto?"

Ino turned around and grinned. "Naruto. But I guess you would know, being the Hokage's assistant and all that. So that must mean Sasuke-kun's back as well?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, he was waiting at the Hokage Tower. He, a Grass Shinobi and Tsunade-shishou are finishing up there for the night."

Ino and Sakura started walking. "Grass Shinobi?"

Sakura nodded. "Un. His name was… Ikitaisen Noraide. He came in with Naruto today, it seems. He had a blood-sealed scroll from Naruto, so that's proof."

"Ah, so how IS Naruto doing anyway? I hadn't seen him in… hell, more than a year, for sure!"

"I know…" Sakura stated sadly. "Naruto's pretty busy." A sigh, "I haven't been able to talk to him yet, but maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow is my day-off and Tsunade-shishou gave him and his subordinates a whole month off… So he's got spare time."

'Chance!!' Ino grinned. "Well, you three really are going well, reputation-wise, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, the legendary Hawk Summoner. Every Country's telling their Shinobis to run whenever you see the last survivor of the Uchihas. And it doesn't get worse when it comes to you. You're a specialist in Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and super-human strength to top it all off. You're an idol to almost every Kunoichi in the world these days, Sakura. And then you have Naruto, who was once the biggest clown in all existence. Right now, even our famed Yondaime wouldn't stand a chance against him. He's the strongest Shinobi of Konoha. He told us all the time he would be Hokage and we laughed at him, but now…"

Sakura nodded her head. "Now we think he's destined for even greater things… How about you, Ino? You're known everywhere as well. You're the only Shinobi who is a master at Telepathy and Telekinesis. You're a force to be reckoned with. A fight between you and me… Would perhaps end up in a tie, again."

Ino chuckled, before she heard footsteps behind them. "Who?"

"Ah! Could you two help me by any chance?"

"Noraide-kun!" Sakura greeted. "Of course we can help!"

Ino observed the green-haired young man in front of her. "So, you're in Naruto's squad, huh?"

"Ah! Yeah!" Noraide nervously chuckled. "It's an honour, actually. To think he pulled me away from…" He then sighed. "O-Oh yeah, we never got to introduce ourselves to each other!" he exclaimed as he looked at Sakura. "You were with Hokage-sama, right?"

Sakura nodded. "I am Haruno Sakura and this is Yamanaka Ino."

"Wow!! I'm standing in front of the two women Uzumaki-taichou fears the most!!"

He gulped at their reaction.

--

"You've gotta be kidding…" He grumbled as he took a huge swing from his glass. "Lucky bastard!"

"I agree."

"You're cheating, dobe."

"I'm not, bastard! You guys just suck!"

Was what greeted them as Risa and Sayara stepped back into Naruto's apartment. They had gone sightseeing, only to return and see Naruto play cards with Keidarou, Sasuke and Shino.

"Ah, care to introduce us, Keidarou?" Risa said as she approached the table, followed by Sayara.

"Why me?! They're taichou's friends!" Keidarou's eyes widened at heir glares. "A-ah… ThisisUchihaSasukeandtheothersilentdudeisAburameShino…" He muttered. "Annoying Kunoichi…"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Aburame Shino?" Risa asked as she stared at the two called by name. "So, who's who?"

Sasuke held up his hand from his cards for one second. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. And you are?"

She bowed. "Risa Natsuki! Nice to meet you two!" She turned to Sayara. "Aren't you going to-"

"We already know each other." She interrupted. "A few months ago we had to stay in Konoha for two days. You and Keidarou weren't travelling with us yet, back then."

Risa nodded. "I see. So, what are you guys playing?"

"A game for men. Kunoichi not allowed!" Keidarou responded as he threw down his cards. "Two pair, so there!!"

Shino laid his cards down. "I hold the same, but of higher value… Your pairs of Jacks and Eights are insufficient."

Keidarou grumbled at Shino's Kings and Queens.

"Too bad… Straight Flush." Sasuke let out with a grin on his face, before glaring at Naruto.

'Don't tell me… He's got Royal Flush?!' They all thought.

"Well, damn…" Naruto muttered, throwing his cards down to reveal… absolutely no combination whatsoever. "I got nothing, blasted cards."

Sasuke snorted. "Even in card games, the Uchiha will be victorious."

Risa observed Sasuke. 'So he's one of Naruto's old teammates, huh? He looks strong…'

A knock at the door interrupted the next round of card games. Naruto made a Shadow Clone appear at the door and let it open it. "Where the hell have you been?" The Kage Bunshin asked as he let the other in. Only to blink in surprise as he saw two women following him in as well. "Ah, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan!"

"Yo, Ikitaisen! Got lost, eh?" Keidarou yelled and waved at the green-haired Shinobi.

"Something like that…" He whined, before his eyes widened and he pointed a finger. "Ah! You guys are playing cards without me!" Noraide shouted as he ran towards the table. The Kage Bunshin standing with Sakura and Ino shook his head and let himself disappear. "Looks like they're having fun." Ino commented as she and Sakura saw the shouting men at the table. They then noticed the two Kunoichi who were approaching them.

"Ah, you two must also be in Naruto's squad?" Sakura asked. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"And I'm Yamanaka Ino."

Risa and Sayara introduced themselves as well and they got comfortable sitting on the couch, trying to ignore the loud sounds coming from the others. "So, you were with Naruto when he was still a kid, right? What was he like?" Risa asked. "What was your team like?"

Sakura smiled a small smile. "It's a long story, but we have all night, huh?"

Ino dropped her head. "This depressing story again… I'm getting the sake…"

--

Laughter, shouts and sounds of things being thrown echoed throughout the living room.

So no one had heard the knocking, until the door opened. Everyone fell silent as they saw who entered the living room. "Jeez, you guys really made a mess this time…" He observed all the people present. "What is this, new people, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged. "This is originally Naruto's apartment, you know." When Sasuke had returned to the place where he sleeps, he found Keidarou and Naruto in the living room. Since his return to Konoha, Sasuke was forced to live with a Shinobi who was strong enough to stop him, should he try anything.

There was only one Shinobi capable of that, and that was Naruto. So they started living together. But then, after a year, they both were never home and always away on missions. Naruto more than Sasuke.

It had become routine to just go to Naruto's and Sasuke's place to cool down after a day of hard work.

"How troublesome… Who's going to do the cleaning?"

"The Kunochi, of course!" Keidarou yelled, obviously drunk. A second later, Shikamaru had to lift his right leg to make sure Keidarou's head didn't crash against it, as Risa had used her fists to do the talking. "Who's this guy?" Shikamaru asked as he looked down and saw the huge red mark on his chin, courtesy of another Shinobi he didn't know.

"That drunk fool is Keidarou Dairokku." Risa yelled. "My name's Risa Natsuki and this is Sayara-"

"I know her already." Shikamaru said.

"Whoa, and you think it reeks at my place?!" Cam a voice behind Shikamaru.

--

"I don't mean to be a smart-ass, but…"

Kiba rolled his eyes as he took another sip from his sake. "What is it now, Nara?"

"I told you you had to report to Hokage-sama, right?"

…

…

…

"Man, it's too late now… Look at all these people." Kiba chuckled. "All wasted and down for the count."

"You look pretty beat up, too." Came Naruto's voice as he observed the mess that was his apartment. "Cleaning this up will take me a few minutes. Kage Bunshin here, there, here, there…" Naruto said twenty times, not knowing when to quit as he started spinning.

"I look beat up because this idiot here…" Kiba pointed at Nara, who was also drunk. "Made me look for a fucking head!"

"You should have seen your face, though."

"How the hell would you react when you see a face, a HEAD, talk?!" Kiba turned to Naruto. "Naruto, this genius here makes me dig up a freaking head… and man, that head was sooooo pissed! Especially when I pulled it out of the ground, pulled his hair and he spotted Shikamaru! He…" Kiba started laughing. "He even tried to bite us!!"

Shikamaru was actually chuckling a bit as well.

And Naruto…

Naruto was standing and asleep at the same time.

"Damn that Naruto…" Kiba muttered as he rose from his seat, only to fall down on the ground.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I won't be able to make it home in this condition… Better sleep here as well."

--

"Ne, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

Naruto opened his eyes to see Ino lying next to him on the ground.

Everyone was scattered on the floor of his apartment, as everyone was too tired to look for a comfortable bed.

Except Shino. Who had left at an appropriate time.

"What have you been up to all this time?"

Naruto whistled a bit silly. "Ahh, so much! Let's… let's go for a walk around Konoha, Ino-chan!" He jumped up and pulled Ino to her feet.

"I'm coming… too." Came a tired voice.

Naruto smiled as he pulled Sakura, who had been lying next to him on the other side, to her feet as well. "Let's go, then!"

--

The trio found themselves on the Monument of the Hokage minutes later, by usage of Hiraishin no Jutsu. "You know… Other Countries, other Villages… Nothing can compare to Konoha." Naruto whispered. "I've seen a lot of Shinobi, heard a lot of teachings, spoke with many leaders and had arguments with lots of bastards like Sasuke… But I can do all of that best, here in Konoha."

"Why… why do you bring Shinobi from other Countries with you, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled. "Isn't it obvious? They were out of place. Now, I think they are in the place they want to be. They are like me, the same, but slightly different. When I met Sayara Mudaka, It was like seeing a Konoha Shinobi in Suna, who didn't know she was a Konoha Shinobi. Gaara told me she was a talented Shinobi, but not one who agreed with the way Suna worked. She had no family and few friends in Suna. I asked Gaara what he would think if she were to come and travel with me?"

"And then?"

"I stayed in Suna for a month, doing my job for Konoha, which is secret so I can't tell you." He waved their glares away with a grin. "But when I was about to leave, Gaara shoved Sayara into my care and told me she was still from Suna, but she worked under my command."

"What did Sayara think?"

"Well, she was a bit sad a first, she grew up in Suna, after all. But somehow, we became friends, good friends. And… and it kinda worked."

Sakura nodded her head. 'Just like it always does with you, right, Naruto?' She thought.

"Sayara and I were confronted by this group of bandits trying to rob us months later, when we were on our way to Stone. Their leader was one tough nut. But we ended up kicking his ass, surprising him. I told him to leave this bandit-business, but he countered with…" Naruto chuckled. "He countered with one of the strangest replies I've ever had. He said 'Let me travel with you, until I can beat the shit out of you!' Strange, huh? And that's how Keidarou Dairokku joined us."

Naruto continued with a funny chuckle. "It turns out he knew Hozuki Suigetsu"

"So, how did Risa join?"

"Man, Risa was one aggressive Shinobi! The leader of Stone didn't know what to do with her. She wasn't a weapon to them, but their entire Country feared whenever she went… berserk."

"Berserk?"

Naruto nodded with a scary smile. "Yeahhh… She carries this huge-ass sword and just slices up everything she sees! I was told she doesn't listen to anyone when she's like that." Then, Naruto turned sad. "Because of that, everyone feared Risa in Stone. She had no friends, none at all. So me, Keidarou and Sayara befriended her and a lot of the Shinobis from the Stone at the same time. We did a few missions for them and after six months, we earned their trust. They even asked if Keidarou could become one of them; a Stone Shinobi."

They all laughed shortly.

"And then that day came where Tsunade called for my return. I did my work excellently, but it was time to do my missions closer to home. And then, Risa asked if she could join me. And I asked permission from the Tsuchikage. I got it, with the same declaration Gaara gave me. When we got back in Konoha, Tsunade sent me to Grass again an hour or so later… I remember how much I wanted to sleep in my own place for a change. But that's when we came across Ikitaisen Noraide. He's a nervous one, but one troublesome guy to fight when he's serious. Although no one in Grass knows that. They gladly allowed him to travel with me, because he's viewed upon as the Village's coward. The only reason he acts like that, is because his fighting skills are somewhat similar to Risa-chan's."

"How about you? Learned something new?"

"Me? I learned it's a challenge to travel with women…"

--

"This year was so intense…" Sakura spoke up after a few minutes of silence where the trio was simply observing Konoha from higher up. "I've learned something Tsunade-shishou forgot to teach me."

Naruto watched her while Ino sadly looked on ahead.

"There are… hopeless cases. Which means, you have to find out who has the higher priority."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean… Ignoring a hopeless case to help someone who has a higher chance of survival?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah… It hurts, letting someone die so you have more time to save another. It hunts you, every night, but… it's inevitable."

Naruto glared at nothing. "There should be more medic-nin, then!"

Sakura snorted. "It's not the amount of medic-nin hat will make the difference… Actually, nothing will make a difference. Not a better leader, not more capable Shinobi, better training or a more talented medic-nin. It's just the way it is, Naruto. There's nothing anyone can do about it."

A silence fell over them again, before Sakura continued.

"I've surpassed Kurenai-sensei in Genjutsu!" She yelled, hoping the depressive mood around them would go away. "Heh, I can probably kill you with Genjutsu, Naruto…"She teased.

Naruto sighed and shrugged. "You can try." He reacted seriously. "But I doubt it."

Sakura frowned. 'Did Naruto sound sad just now?'

Ino fell in conversation. "You know, Naruto…" She started. "I can do…this!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he started levitating, but as soon as it had started, he dropped to the ground again, with a big Chakra surge around him as well, making Ino yelp in pain. "D-damn! What was that?!"

"I think I should be the one asking that…" Naruto was puzzled. He was flying and then his Chakra… appeared. "That only happens, when I'm being attacked… What did you do?"

Sakura giggled. "Telekinesis. Ino's the only Shinobi who has mastered this skill."

"Wow, awesome, Ino-chan!"

Ino grumbled. "Still doesn't explain the stinging in my eyes, now. You've got one nasty defense…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and turned to Sakura. "Uhm, you should probably take a look at her eyes, Sakura-chan…" He smiled a bit embarrassedly. "I have an automatic defense of Wind Chakra around me. Ever since I fully mastered my Wind Affinity, it started. Whenever I got attacked, my Chakra would protect me. I'm sorry, Ino-chan." He bowed.

"Ah, no worries…" Ino said, already feeling better thanks to Sakura's healing hands. "It just means I can't attack you like that."

Naruto grinned.

_"But how about this?!"_

Naruto stepped backwards. "What?" Usually, in his head it would be Kyuubi he heard, but now… This was Ino's voice? "Wow, you can talk to me inside my head?"

_"Only if I have made eye-contact with you for more than a second.__ And then, only for about ten minutes. Until I look you in the eyes again, of course."_ She smirked. "We've both grown a lot, huh, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded his head in amazement. "Yeah… As expected of you."

--

"Not funny."

Receiving no response, Naruto chose to groan at Sasuke, Risa, Noraide, Keidarou and Sayara, who were all snoring on the floor. He frowned as he couldn't find Shikamaru. 'Don't tell me…'

Naruto skilfully jumped over everyone and was heading for his own bedroom to see Shikamaru sleeping in his bed. 'T-t-that damn bastard!!' Naruto dropped his head and turned around. 'Jeez, I'm back for one day to find my house occupied by this many idiots…'

"Oy…"

"Don't talk as if nothing's going on, lazy bum!" Naruto whispered as he pointed his finger at Shikamaru, careful not to wake any others up. "You're using my bed without my permission!"

"Hey, you never said you would return here when you left with Ino and Sakura… I figured it was a wasted bed otherwise."

Naruto glared.

"Anyway, I found this under your pillow."

Naruto didn't know how to look as Shikamaru handed him a letter.

"I didn't read it. It doesn't say who it's from either, so… No harm done." Shikamaru said as he walked by Naruto and headed for the living room. "I'm heading for a debriefing."

"This early?" Naruto asked as he stared at the letter. "Got a mission ready for you? Ain't no way in hell Tsunade is already awake."

Shikamaru nodded. "Right. Hokage-sama is still in deep sleep now. But Shizune has already left any information I need in the Hokage's Office."

"Heh, so you're like me, then?"

The Nara nodded his head again. "We're both trusted completely by Tsunade-sama. You, me, Shizune and Sakura."

"Heh, quite an honour, huh?" Naruto mused.

"Well, then… I'm off." Shikamaru waved over his shoulder.

Naruto let out an agreeing sound and opened the letter.

--

**_Hello, Naruto_**

**_I started to write this letter a little while after you left with Jiraiya. It was strange that everyone was suddenly going their own ways. _**

**_Tsunade-shishou told me it was natural. Her team was quite the same back when she was Genin._**

**_I don't know what to do in my spare time besides training, so… I'm writing this, to you._**

**_When I first met you, I couldn't stand you. I didn't hate you, even though I said it, but it was just easy to say at that time._**

**_You were always cheerful, never sad. Unlike myself, who cried every time Sasuke-kun was not nice to me._**

**_Which was always._******

**_But I want you to know, that…_**

**_I look up to you now. You've far surpassed me and Sasuke-kun and I believe in you._**

**_You'll make Hokage someday and I'll support you._**

Naruto smiled and then frowned as he saw another note. In fact, there were several…

"Sakura-chan." He whispered as he started reading the next note.

**_Hello, Naruto_**

**_I've had it rough, Tsunade-shishou is really a pain in the ass…_**

**_But I'm guessing Jiraiya-sama is no different._**

**_I didn't expect to write another letter, but…_**

**_I miss you. _**

**_You'll be back in a few months from now._**

**_I've changed a lot and I'm going to impress you with my new strength! You better impress me right back._**

**_Well, this letter is not meant to be read by you as it is only meant for me._**

**_To deal with my current loneliness._******

Naruto frowned. 'Then why do I have these notes?' He thought as he proceeded to the next.

**_Hello, Naruto_**

**_I can't talk to you seriously in real, because I'm embarrassed. You're… you're too mature for me when you're serious._**

**_I want to grow more mature before I can face your maturity._**

**_You told me about being a Jinchuuriki a week ago. _**

**_I look up to you even more now._**

**_I'm glad you're back in Konoha._**

'Two more notes.'

**_Hello, Naruto_**

**_Where have you gone to now?_**

**_Sasuke-kun is back, thanks to us, so… Why didn't you stay in Konoha? _**

**_Tsunade-shishou told me you didn't have to go. You chose for this._**

**_Why?_**

**_Does it hurt to be in Konoha? Did you actually… feel unhappy here?_**

**_I miss you._**

**_I miss you even more than before._**

**_I apologize for everything I have ever done to you, Naruto. I'm too weak to tell you this in real life._**

**_I'm afraid._**

**_I'm sorry for ever hurting you. _**

**_So, please… come back._**

**_Come back and stay._**

Naruto was shocked to see such emotion coming from a note written by Sakura. 'The last note.'

**_Hello, Naruto_**

**_You're back_**

**_You're back, but you're ready to leave again. I can see nothing can stop you from leaving._**

**_You don't feel at home anymore in Konoha, do you? I'm glad you're back._**

**_But it makes me so sad to know you could be gone for another year tomorrow. So…_**

**_I decided to let you know about my feelings._**

**_I wrote this letter today and put all the letters I wrote under your pillow._**

**_I know it's stupid, but I can only hope._**

**_I missed you, Naruto. _**

**_I want you to stay._**

Naruto sighed and put the letters back under his pillow. 'I… I never read them, I'll say I've never read them... I have to go, Sakura-chan.'

He sat down on his bed. "I can't stay." He whispered sadly to the dark of his bedroom.

--

TBC

Next Chapter!!

Or should this be a Oneshot?

I got plans for this and I actually started with this piece about two years ago… Maybe even more…

But! Plan originally was eternal solitude. Because… They are all alike. You see, Naruto's subordinates are much older than even Tsunade… But they look younger than Naruto. Can you guess why?

This wasn't even meant to become a NaruSaku, but I'm pretty fixated on that pairing, lately. Well, anyway, I had plans for Hinata, who owns an advanced Byakugan, to find out about Naruto and his subordinates' secret.

But now, I've gone and gotten Sakura involved with Naruto…. So what to do, what to do?

Well, anyway, thanks for reading this piece!!


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